Yeah, the Tesla motor company has had some glitches. Bricked cars, self-immolating cars, insane high prices. I'll admit, hearing about the five or so cars that have been catastrophes has been quite alarming.

There should be an investigation, but to the Republicans it doesn't matter, even if the results came out positively for the Tesla company. If it isn't an oil distillate powered vehicle, than it doesn't belong on the road in their opinion, because that would hurt the profits of oil companies that they support over the attempts to investigate alternative, less damaging ways to generate energy.

MindStalker:Road debris? The driver running over an I-Beam that shot through the floor at I hear over 10 tons of force isn't "Road Debris".

Which is why there's no need for an investigation. I've said it before: any vehicle that contains enough potential energy to move itself around for an extended period of time is going to have some risks. Whether it's gasoline, laptop batteries, nuclear power, or whatever, that's going to be some volatility.

DarkSoulNoHope:There should be an investigation, but to the Republicans it doesn't matter, even if the results came out positively for the Tesla company. If it isn't an oil distillate powered vehicle, than it doesn't belong on the road in their opinion, because that would hurt the profits of oil companies that they support over the attempts to investigate alternative, less damaging ways to generate energy.

Stupid, stubborn corporate suits.Their stock has been punished by the market due to the PR hit caused by this incident.For their own sake, they should just come clean, quit stonewalling and launch a very public investigation to DEMONSTRATE they care about their customers.

DrZiffle:Yes. A gas-powered, internal combustion engine has never been know to explode.

No one has ever seen a fire result from an accident involving Real American petroleum cars. Maybe if two libulardos hit each other and their on-board organic hemp composters ignited. I'm kidding of course-- libulardos aren't Job Creators and can't afford cars.

That's part of it, but also read today's bike thread to see the other half of that. Bicycles aren't new things, but talk about how you bike to work and the haters come out.

At least part of it is that if you do something unusual (buy an EV, bike everywhere) the first reaction from a thoughtful onlooker is "Oh. Less air pollution. Power made domestically. You're making the country a better place.", but that means the second reaction from a nearby cretin will be "Look at that guy, eating crackers not burning gasoline like he owns the place."

dfenstrate:DarkSoulNoHope: There should be an investigation, but to the Republicans it doesn't matter, even if the results came out positively for the Tesla company. If it isn't an oil distillate powered vehicle, than it doesn't belong on the road in their opinion, because that would hurt the profits of oil companies that they support over the attempts to investigate alternative, less damaging ways to generate energy.

Does the DNC pay you well? Or is it Soros?

No, just my personal views, but I am curious what your justification is for taking the opposite position? Do you get paid by the American Enterprise Institute, or the RNC, or maybe instead of looking to strawmen positions, how about my original question: "What is your justification for taking the opposite position?"

I don't think there's anything about that article that I liked. Other than being informed the stocks are still down 10%. Time to buy!

(I've always been a big supporter of electric/hybrid cars. I finally moved to a town that's got a Tesla dealership! Time to start saving money! Granted it'll take a while, but a girl can dream, can't she? :D)

Yes, a car filled with batteries can probably burn spectacularly. A car filled with gasoline can also burn spectacularly. Anything that's carrying around enough energy to propel itself for several hundred miles is also going to have enough energy to do other interesting (probably bad) things too.

I have had my Model S about ten months now. Freaking amazing car.Wish I had bought the stock ten months ago (at $40 or so).If I hit "road debris" with enough force to puncture through quarter-inch armour plating steel, I would fully expect that to have a detrimental effect to any vehicle.

I'm all in favor of the investigation of "alternative, less damaging ways to generate energy." I simply believe that if there is to be a viable alternative to petroleum-based power of any sort, it will come from a free-market implementation of technology developed by privately funded research. The government throwing money down the rat-hole of research into solar, wind, and other green power options is not going to do it. If someone comes up with a viable and sustainable solution, there are entrepreneurs and investors who will beat their door down to get involved.

Mandating that the petroleum companies fund the research, that the automakers invest in it before the market is ready, and that taxpayers subsidize the efforts is counter-productive. It sucks money out of the economy without any assurance of a return.

DarkSoulNoHope:There should be an investigation, but to the Republicans it doesn't matter, even if the results came out positively for the Tesla company. If it isn't an oil distillate powered vehicle, than it doesn't belong on the road in their opinion, because that would hurt the profits of oil companies that they support over the attempts to investigate alternative, less damaging ways to generate energy.

Your "green" technology only exists on the shoulders of the nuclear defense industry.

Would you like to know where the lithium material in all those batteries came from? Well, you can thank the nuclear weapons industry for creating a massive stockpile of excess lithium.

I mean, what are the odds the same thing would happen to 1 of the other 3?

/If you don't live in California, you have about the same chance of seeing a Tesla Roadster in person as someone visiting the Iowa State Fair has of getting bitten by a shark.

I don't know where you live but in Seattle, every day. Look, we've been here before. No one remember the rollout of the prius? We heard much of the same shiat and now it's the #1 selling car in California, where I have heard they have a lot of people.

DrZiffle:Yes. A gas-powered, internal combustion engine has never been know to explode.

Hint: Gasoline powered vehicles get safety investigations too. "But...but...gas" is not an argument to ignore safety on electric cars.

I agree this particular event does not merit general concern over the safety of the tesla, but the extremely oft repeated finger pointing misdirection, often used even by Musk himself, is entirely and completely beside the point.